


Invisible Injuries

by MiddayGiggle



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Fan theories strikes again, Guilty Kieran, I REGRET NOTHING, Injured Kieran, It was too good of a concept not to write, It's an Alibi, It's not a shipping fic though, Lauren is not impressed, Lauren is still mad, Office banter kinda?, Seriously Lauren is mad, She has the right, They pulled the fake dating card, kym ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26655154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiddayGiggle/pseuds/MiddayGiggle
Summary: To be in a fake relationship with her ex-partner in crime was everything but what Lauren wanted. She, after all, hates Kieran White.However, when he shows up to the office with both hands wrapped in bandages, it apparently is her duty as "girlfriend" to check on him.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 83





	Invisible Injuries

Lauren Sinclair was not particularly pleased with her current situation. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, to say the least. On one hand, she was royally pissed with one Kieran White, with just reason. She had many reasons and his latest trick did nothing to appease her. To claim them a couple without even asking her. _The_ _guts_.

On the other hand, she was aware she needed him just as much as he needed her, whether they liked it or not. They worked better as a team, that much was clear. So they had to keep up the lie. It didn't mean it was easy. It didn’t mean she didn’t want to strangle him very much the same way he had done to her, just out of spite so he could know what it felt like.

Lauren had received a note between a folder Kieran had handed her.  _ I'll be out tonight _ , it read. Anyone would've thought about it as a hidden date unfortunately postponed, but in reality, she knew damn well what he meant with the note. He would kill someone that night.

As assumed, she didn't sleep well.

Not like she did on a regular basis.

When she came into the office the next day she practically snatched the coffee cup from Kieran's tray, without looking at him for long. She didn't feel like seeing him act all nonchalant after taking a life. It was only when she had already begun her duties that Lauren overheard Will talking to Kieran, which made her grip her pen a little tighter before she registered what they were talking about.

"Could you please take these, Mr. White?"

Kieran nodded, his tray already banished. "Of course, I'll take them to the archives."

A beat of silence. Then:

"What happened to your hands?"

Lauren glanced up.

Kieran was standing before the Lieutenant’s desk with both palms wrapped in bandages, wrapped around his thumb and circling his fingers. He had effectively covered most of his hands, except for his digits. Kym had looked up as well at Will's question. Kieran dropped his hands and hid them inside his pockets.

"Ah,  **it's nothing** , I–"

"Are you injured?" Will asked, the worried crease not leaving its place between his brows.

Kieran shook his head. "Really, Lieutenant, don't worry–"

"If it's bad you can go to the infirmary," Kym added. Kieran made a face and then said:

" **It was a dumb accident. I was cooking last night, my knife slipped, and I cut myself trying to catch it** ," Kieran shrugged, his eyes flickering to Lauren for an instant, whose eyes were but small slits at his lie. He continued. " **It's not that bad** , it just stings a little."

"Maybe you need stitches…" Lauren mumbled, not really knowing why she said it. Kieran's lip twitched in what seemed to be amusement before shaking his head.

"I'm quite positive I don't, but thank you for your concern, to all of you," he took the stack of papers from William's hands and Lauren caught the moment he hissed under his breath as he grasped the papers. "I'll go archive these."

He walked away, leaving the three friends confused, but especially Lauren. Something must have happened last night on his mission, that was her first thought, but he was skilled enough not to end up with _ both hands _ injured. The knife story was a lie, clearly. Kieran knew how to handle knives, he wouldn't be so dumb as to cut himself with a kitchen one. So what happened?

She must have been staring at the door for too long because Kym had to attract her attention with a jab to Lauren’s leg with the tip of her boot. Lauren turned to see her, arching an eyebrow as Kym made wild gestures to the door.

“You can go check on him if you want to,” Kym whispered, glancing at Lukas, who was too busy brooding while scribbling on his papers and sipping coffee to care about their conversation.

Lauren had to remind herself she was supposed to be Kieran’s girlfriend before replying.

“Maybe later,” she glanced at the door. “It’d be suspicious if I just walked after him. Remember, it’s supposed to be a secret.”

Kym nodded solemnly. “Right, right, right.”

“Ladell, paperwork,” Will muttered without looking up from his work. Kym groaned and turned back to her work.

Lauren chuckled before going back to her own papers, trying to convince herself that the frown she had was just part of her act as Kieran’s girlfriend, and had nothing of genuine worry behind.

* * *

After patrol (Will finally let her leave the office), Lauren diverted her path and left her friends behind on her way to the Archives, picking the lock and walking unannounced. She abandoned basic manners around Kieran. She immediately turned to where Kieran’s desk was, not expecting at all the sight before her.

Kieran had turned to her the moment she barged in and was frozen on his spot, bandages gone from his hands as he seemed to be tending to them. As expected, there was not a single cut in them. The truth, however, was much worse.

His hands were irritated to an alarming point, as if he had rubbed them with sandpaper until he peeled a complete layer of skin, leaving them in pink and red and bloody in some spots. The palm and the back of his hands were in a pitiful state.

Lauren gaped. “What the fuck-”

Kieran hid his hands, putting on his usual charming smile as if she had seen nothing. She was striding across the room already.

"Hello, Officer, how may I–"

She didn't want to touch him. She really didn't. But she couldn't help but worry at how his hands looked, so she grabbed them from behind his back and pulled to her, and Kieran cursed in a hiss; they still hurt. Lauren didn't bother to apologize but moved her grip to his wrists instead. Up close, the irritation looked worse.

"What the fuck happened, Kieran?" She glanced at the first aid kit on his desk and back at his hands. "Did you wash this properly? Did the Scythe do this to you?"

Kieran wasn't even trying to escape her grasp, he simply looked down at his lap like a sad little puppy that was being scolded.

"I did this to myself. It was an accident."

Lauren rummaged through the kit and snatched a cream from it, placing a knee in the chair, between his legs, to support herself as she poured some in her fingers.

Kieran frowned. "You don't have to help me–"

"Quiet, subordinate," she hissed, the nickname slipping too easily, taking his left hand. She held it from the wrist and began dabbing cream on the irritated skin. Kieran sighed.  _ It must feel relieving _ , Lauren guessed. "You can't dress your own wounds yourself. While I do this, tell me what happened."

Kieran watched with interest how her fingers moved on top of his palm as she applied the cream to his injure. His lips twitched in what seemed to be a soft smile before dropping again. Lauren decided not to mention it, waiting for his explanation.

"It was an accident, really. You don't have to worry about it."

"Well, what kind of accident would almost peel your skin off?" Lauren cocked an eyebrow up, twisting his wrist to apply cream in the back.

Kieran doubted. He seemed to be doing that a lot, especially around her, and yet Lauren decided not to mention it either. She waited, almost finishing with his left hand before he mustered up the courage to speak.

"It wouldn't come off," he whispered, so low, so weak. Lauren had to lean a little closer to understand what he was saying. "The blood. It wouldn't come off. I scrubbed my hands until the blood was mine. Then I realized only I could see it."

Lauren stopped in her tracks, in the middle of wrapping bandages around Kieran's left hand. She looked up at him. Metting his eyes, she wanted to believe it wasn't what she thought, but the emotion in them wouldn't let her fool herself. She remembered that not so long ago he had lied to her. Unlike other times, this lie almost washed relief over her at what it implied:

**_And I have no regrets_ ** **.**

She went back to work so he wouldn’t notice the lump in her throat, wrapping with quick gestures the bandage.

"You… You have to be more careful," she swallowed to clear her voice. "These are your tools. How are you going to draw if you hurt them?"

He looked taken aback at her statement, clearly not expecting her to mention drawing instead of killing. Lauren didn't expect it herself. She carefully placed his hand on his lap and took the other one, repeating the process.

They didn't say anything else. As Lauren was about to finish wrapping the second hand, the door opened, and in walked Kym, looking down at a file she had with her.

"Hey, Kieran, Will asked me to–  _ oh _ ," she stopped on her wake at the sight before her and it was then that Lauren realized she was practically mounting the chair Kieran was sitting on as she tended to her wounds. It looked compromising. Lauren was about to step back if it weren't for Kieran's free hand that had swiftly brushed her waist, barely even touching, but the message was clear.  _ Don't move, it'll help with the facade. _

Kieran had his polite grin back on. "Can I help you, Sergeant?"

Kym smirked and waved her hand as she stepped back towards the door. "Oh, no, no. It's not that important anyway. Um, how are your hands?"

"Lauren is helping me with that, as you can see," Lauren was pretending she wasn't in the room as she continued to wrap Kieran's hand, pressing her lips together. Thank her hair for hiding her flushed face. Kieran nodded to Kym. "I'm much better now, thanks to her."

_ He's not lying, he's not lying, he's not lying– _

"I can see that," Kym giggled, before leaving not without assuring Lauren she'd tell Will not to worry about her whereabouts.

The moment the door closed, Kieran's hand left her waist and went back to his lap. He cleared his throat as Lauren finished wrapping the bandage and used some tape to keep it in place.

"Well, at least the facade is working," he whispered. Lauren nodded and released his right hand. Kieran examined the bandages and flexed his fingers, the only sign of discomfort being a silent cringe as he made a fist. Kieran grinned slightly at Lauren. "Thank you, Lauren."

She was taken aback by the sincerity on his voice, and his eyes had something deeper to them she couldn't put a finger on. Was he thankful for the bandages or something else? It didn't sound that simple. Or, well, she never really knew with Kieran; he was good at walking around her ability with jokes and half-truths.

Lauren stepped away from her position on the chair. She had enough of being close to him for the week at least, so she busied herself putting the bandages and cream away.

"Well, you need to be able to use your hands. I don't think your superiors would appreciate the story of how their favorite puppet hurt himself."

The venom was back on her tone, a bit more aggressive than she intended. Kieran released something that appeared to be half a groan, half a sigh. He got up and took the first aid kit to put it back in its place on the shelf.

"They don't really care. I've had to work in worst conditions," Lauren bit her tongue not to ask. She shook her hand to scare away the thoughts of him bloody and injured being forced to carry on his orders. Kieran turned to Lauren again, walls back up. "Did you come for something I can help you with? Do you need a file?"

Lauren bit the inside of her cheek. "Not really. Kym suggested I check on you and we have an alibi to keep. I'll be going."

"Thank you, Lauren," Kieran muttered from his spot against the desk as she stepped outside. She didn't turn to answer.

As she walked back to the Patrol office she rubbed her temples, trying to convince herself that she didn't care about Kieran's guilt, or his injured hands, or anything at all. She didn't care. He was a monster, she had bruises to prove it.

She didn't care.

She stepped inside the office and Will asked her how was Kieran and if his injuries were bad. As she lied to her childhood friend about how the cuts were not that deep, she kept reminding herself she didn't care.

She doesn't care about Kieran White.

**Author's Note:**

> We talked about this on Fan Theories and I had to write it I couldn't help myself.
> 
> Just imagine Kieran on his apartment scrubbing his hands until they bled because the blood wouldn't go away; he wants it to go away. Just imagine it.
> 
> Props to Fan Theories for coming up with the title and being an endless source of inspiration. You guys are the best.
> 
> Instagram @middaygiggle_art
> 
> Until next time!  
> -Midday Giggle


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